French protest over Dogma movie

The controversial Hollywood movie Dogma has been attacked by the Catholic Church in France.

The film, which also sparked religious protests in the US and the UK, has been described in a church publication as “stupid, superficial and uninteresting” and “not even worthy of discussion”.

Father Stanislas Lalanne, spokesman for the Catholic Church in Paris said: “There is a difference between movies that treat religious issues with respect and those that are derogatory and make fun of the church.”

Last week some 100 people protested in Versailles, denouncing the movie as “blasphemous”.

Dogma stars Oscar-winning actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as a pair of fallen angels and singer Alanis Morissette as God

CLERKS TV…Sundance juror Kevin Smith and Miramax’ TV division used the influx of press in Park City as an opportunity to tease Smith’s upcoming TV series, “Clerks, The Cartoon.” In advance of yesterday’s Miramax press reception a handful of media gathered on Main Street to check out a trailer for the program and a brief comedic bit. The six-episode series, for corporate sibling ABC, will air hit airwaves in March — it reunites toon versions of Jason Mewes’ “Jay” and Smith’s “Silent Bob” with Brian O’Halloran’s “Dante Hicks” and Jeff Anderson’s “Randal.” Alec Baldwin appears as villain Leonardo, Leonardo and watch for cameos by James Woods, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Charles Barkley. While Monday’s teaser elicited chuckles from the Park City press, the core audience for this show clearly skews toward Smith fans and male viewers.

“It seems like a guy show, primarily because there are no women on the show,” teased Smith.

QUOTABLES:
“From the network that brought you the ratings smash, ‘Wasteland’…>From the studio that brought you the mega blockbuster ‘Happy Texas’…>From the filmmakers who brought you the Academy Award winning cinema classic ‘Mall Rats’…comes the next sure thing…Clerks the Cartoon”

– opening to the teaser trailer for Kevin Smith’s new TV show.